Recent experience has indicated the desirability of preventing unrestricted vehicle access to parking areas, particularly underground garages and the like. Terrorists have been known to drive explosives loaded trucks and cars into building parking areas for the purpose of destroying the building and killing the individuals located thereabout. Frequently, these terrorists drive the explosive loaded vehicle and detonate same while still seated therein. Consequently, a means for preventing the unrestricted ingress of vehicles into surface and subterranean parking areas is desirable in order to avoid these terrorists explosions.
Kardash, U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,871 discloses a vehicle barricade having a movable barrier plate pivotally disposed on a shaft transversely extending between two spaced concrete pillars. Means are provided for pivoting the barrier plate between a horizontal position and an angularly disposed blocking position. The vehicle barricade of Kardash does not completely solve the problems of a selectively operable vehicle barricade and improvement thereof is necessary.
The disclosed invention provides a novel and unique vehicle barricade which is selectively operable between a horizontal position and an angularly disposed blocking position. The barrier plate is secured to a pivotable shaft which is mounted in a semi-circular cylindrical recess extending along the roadway surface between a pair of concrete walls. The shaft receiving system is securely fastened to the roadway and includes means for preventing removal of the shaft from the shaft receiving system. An observation booth is provided adjacent one of the walls and includes means for operating the cylinder and piston assembly which pivots the barrier gate. The barrier gate has a reinforcing member secured to one surface thereof in order to strengthen the barrier gate. The concrete walls have a reinforced framework to prevent damage to the walls as well as to absorb the impact forces caused by collision of a vehicle with the barrier plate. Consequently, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed vehicle barricade is a significant advance in the art.